Data Humorism

Back in 2019 most people looked at Data with a reverence that I felt stopped them from seeing what was in the data. So I started a project called "Data Humorism" to give people a look what the lighter side of data could look like if we look up from our spreadsheets and plots.

I started the project off by easing people into the ideas that data plots are really just bunch of shapes arranged in a way that makes sense to us in that context. But it's just shapes. I playing with common representations but using the perspective of a graphic designer and illustrator.

Who looks at butterflies and sees them as a something menacing. With that thought in mind I went a head and captured some of the most popular plot types in a format that delighted them and their kids. I can't remember how many emails I got of parents asking me if I could send them a pdf with graphics they kids could use to color in the wings themselves.

Data Visualisation is often used in an explanatory context. Experts will sit down and figure out what the best plot is to show a certain type of data. I starte this line with the through in mind of how somebody would advertise popular and not so popular plot types to experts.

While we often use abstract shapes as building blocks for Data Visualisations text doesn't get the same attention. Often it's used as an aid to add a bit more information or emphasis. Here I tried to flip this on it's head by making type the main building blocks.